If you're familiar with Hatewave's great eponymous album on Tumult (featuring Weasel Walter of Flying Luttenbachers fame), well, just partially forget its ferocious, technical math-death-grind, here we go back to the bands' early no-wave roots with a 13-minute demo of hilariously ugly music, recorded "in 1995 on bad equipment in threadbare conditions on drugs in the Midwest in winter". Featuring a trio playing drums, guitar, Casio SK-5 and vocals, "Sexual Healing 2" (or is that "Free Ringtones!"?) as a sort of demented scum-black thrash with metal-can sounding beats and "atmospheric" parts played with cheap keyboards. "Shitlist" and "Insomniac" have some gruff cookie monster vocals reminding of Spazz-ish power violence, and "Mutiny" even seems to attempt at some Crossed Out-style break. Everything falls apart, however, in "Sexual Healing 2", "An Hatewaves" and the 8th untitled track, which are pure, unadulterated no-wave garbage. Add some out-there and truly disgusting visuals and you'll come off with a much more extreme Hatewave than the later tech-death incarnation ("Fuck metal", the liner notes say).

Recorded in 2006, "What Matters to Ali" features well-known trumpeter Axel Dörner in a quite unusual improvised session with Argentinian drummer Diego Chamy, who also reads a text throughout. In its best moments, the recording has an eerie, mysterious feel, with sparse, subdued sounds and the hardly discernible, rambling vocals giving it an almost ritualistic atmosphere (think of some early Osso Exótico). Dörner plays, as expected, in his usual style made of wails, hisses and gurgles, which, alas, I must say is hardly surprising by now, while I've found Chamy's work on metallic thumps and resonances much more engaging. One track, 45'39", many interesting parts popping out of a rather uneventful whole. Powerful cover photo.

INFESTATION is the first Quebec martial industrial act and its aim is to evoke subjects concerning the fight for subsistence of cultural heritage. Louis Carrier, the guy behind the project, stated that his aim doesn't have nothing to do with right or left wing parties as every folks, every nation has its own battle to fight and martial industrial is the perfect musical style to express and illustrate these ideological struggles. Coming from Quebec he felt the urge to express the determination of the French-speaking minority of that country. Musically the project took inspiration from Puissance, Triarii, In Slaugther Natives, The Protagonist, etc. but its mix of cried out lyrics (almost in a metal style), bombastic percussions and orchestration is really personal. The lovers of the genre will be pleased by listening to BASTION INTOUCHABLE but I think that the newcomers won't stand the vocals high volume because sometimes they cover too much the music...

After eleven years of activity Herbst9 release their fifth album titled THE GODS ARE SMALL BIRDS BUT I AM THE FALCON. With such statement the band take inspiration from Assyrian and Asian mythologies, lamentations, prayers and ancient rituals. With a primitive approach to sound Herbst9 composed nine tracks that form an unique sonic scenario made of hisses, tribal percussions, drones, trumpets, growling voices and minimal melodic lines. For sure this is a record that you won't be able to enjoy listening skipping tracks or choosing the one you dig most (maybe after a couple of spins you would like to take a deep listen to a particular track) as "The laments begin" (the one I liked most along with the following"Must I Die? - because of my holy song") opens a different world made of sidereal echoes of ancient earthly rituals. The minimal compositions have as counterpart a rich amount of great sounds which are able to create an hypnotic effect. Check some excerpts at the Loki Found website.

I wish you already know Skye Klein for this guy, beside being fifty percent of most underrated Relapse band ever (Halo), with his release of the last year titled "compressor" gave us a real masterpiece of rhythmic-electronic music. It’s still hard for me to understand if this "Constructing towers" is better or at the same level of its predecessor, by the way I can assure you Terminal Sound System is the living proof electronic music can still be seductive, interesting and catchy without necessarily being "anal" or experimental. While it’s true that this new release picks up where "Compressor" left off, I think the most interesting quality of this new chapter is the introduction of melody, not the previous Klein’s recording was just cold and ass kicking, but this time some of the tracks are softer and more accessible for an indie customer and not just for a learned electronic/IDM listener. He’s left some of those electronic post jazzy passages intact, you’ve some good examples like "Firefly Butoh" and above all "Duchamp Falls", where it all sounds like after the interreing of Peace Orchestra we have a new Arthur starring "The Sword in the Stone", but my impression is there are a lot of shoegaze/post-rock riminiscences like in "Alaska", "Zodiac" and "Theme for Broken Home" (which is probably my personal favorite of the cd). The atmosphere is nocturne as always and the visionary flag is again high on top but you’d better give a look to the clips with which Terminal Sound System has decided to complete some of the tracks and you can watch them for free here: http://www.terminalsoundsystem.com/towers/. I can’t exactly say Klein opened a new "phylum" in the taxonomy of music, but I have no doubt his personal bland of Drum'n'Bass, IDM, electronic jazz, post-rock, etc. is brilliant, ass kicking and elegant. If you’re one of those filling the ranks of discontent listeners complaining "after Richard D James, Autechre and Seefeel everything had become stagnant" it’s time to stop complaining and to try this 2008 viagra for your ears.